Briatore calm and confident

Renault managing director Flavio Briatore talks about the upcoming season
Q: What is your state of mind just over a month ahead of the first race of
2005?
Flavio Briatore.
Photo by LAT Photographic.
Flavio Briatore: I am calm and...

Renault managing director Flavio Briatore talks about the upcoming season

Q: What is your state of mind just over a month ahead of the first race of
2005?

Flavio Briatore.

Photo by LAT Photographic.

Flavio Briatore: I am calm and confident. We made some important decisions in 2004, for
example choosing to devote wind-tunnel time to the 2005 regulations in
the summer even though it compromised our development late last season.
But it was necessary to make that choice to reap the benefit this year.
On the engine side, the new RS25 ran on the dyno for the first time in
July 2004. Immediately, the reliability and performance were encouraging.
The teams at Viry and Enstone have done a very impressive job.

Q: Do you feel like the collaboration between the two sites is now perfectly
synchronised?

FB: It is improving all the time. In Formula One, you always need to be
moving forwards, questioning your approach and getting better. Our two
technical centres are work together effectively and this is reflected in
the engine-chassis integration of the R25. The Renault Technocentre has
also continued to provide valuable support in key technical areas.

FV: At Renault, we don't have any prima donnas. Everybody, from the security
guards to the drivers, contributes to our successes. Discipline is an
important value, as are rigour and the ability to hit targets. Rob and
Bob work hard, and they are not concerned about appearing in the
spotlight. The whole team shares that approach.

Q: Will the R25 be capable of challenging for victory?

FB: The situation will be the same as always: you do the best possible job
over the winter, you make your choices, you design the car and then begin
testing it. So will the R25 be competitive? I don't know. I can be
confident that we have done our best, but we now need to wait for
Melbourne to see where we stand relative to the competition.

Q: The new regulations must have made things even trickier...

FB: They did. When the engineers initially made the changes specified by the
rules to the 2004 car, we lost around 25% of downforce. We have gained
back part of that loss, but what have our competitors done? Furthermore,
the tyre situation is completely different this year. With only one set
of tyres for qualifying and the race, the work the tyre manufacturers
have done during the winter will be crucial.

Q: What do you expect from your driver line-up?

FB: A lot. We expect dedication and performance, as they are responsible for
the work of many people who work tirelessly to provide them with a
winning car. Fernando and Giancarlo offer a combination of youth and
experience, complemented by a competitive and aggressive attitude on the
track. During the 2005 campaign, it will be key to score points regularly
with both cars. We have high hopes for our drivers.

Q: Can you give us an overview of the team's commercial situation?

FB: With the current focus on cost-cutting in the sport, it is important to
stress that we must also guarantee our revenues. At the Renault F1 Team,
we pride ourselves on offering value to money to the companies who invest
in us and as proof of this, we have not only maintained a stable partner
line-up through the winter, but also concluded a new partnership
agreement for the team in the past few days.

Q: What is your opinion on the state of F1 today?

FB: The new regulations were important to slow the cars down, as they would
have become dangerous had we not taken steps. We now need to offer close
racing, forget about the polemics and concentrate on the sport itself.
Cost cutting is a priority, and we have ideas about how to do that. But I
am optimistic: the 2005 season could well prove to be very
closely-fought.